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Marketing Automation And Inbound Trends In 2021: Formats And Strategies To Generate Leads

Marketing automation and inbound are increasingly important topics for companies in order to generate leads. Here are the trends and best practices for the coming months.

Digital, The Indispensable Ally Of 2021 For B2B Companies

The past year has shown us how essential digital is to be able to continue to generate business. It was no longer possible to rely on traditional levers, especially on physical events and appointments. The inbound has taken on its full meaning during this somewhat chaotic period: rather than exhausting itself to seek prospects difficult to reach, the inbound allows to bring its prospects to oneself.

So yes, you can launch a webinar during a containment, but we notice that the results are multiplied with two three more ingredients:

• some blog posts to position yourself in SEO and generate leads naturally
• webinars that add value to its prospects and capture potential leads
• automation as soon as the lead generation strategy is implemented to start linking with its leads.

It is not always necessary to make content complex and difficult to implement. Can you solve a problem of your leads simply with an Excel file? Make it available for free as a “kit” and see the leads arrive! It will take you little time (compared to a white paper) and the results are even better.

All Companies Can Do Marketing Automation

More than 75% of marketers with inbound strategy and a marketing automation solution work in companies with fewer than 50 employees. SMEs also equip themselves with solutions with the goal of better structuring their organization and saving time on their operational tasks that can be repetitive, such as automatic e-mailing and immediate detection of hot prospects: two essential elements to ensure their growth. The year 2021 will further strengthen that. B2B companies and SMEs in particular have understood the importance of digital and will want to strengthen their actions.

A marketing automation solution will help companies structure their marketing actions because it allows to set up a framework. Implementing a solution is also a good time to reset existing processes and review actions to align sales and marketing teams.

How? It’s very simple: marketers understand what really generates good opportunities for them and can easily launch new campaigns, and salespeople are powered by qualified leads, not contacts who have simply submitted a form.

Equipping a good marketing automation tool will also increase commercial and marketing efficiency. From a marketing automation solution, marketers can simply set up the levers to generate leads via their website (forms, landing pages…) and accompany their leads in the sales cycle (nurturing) and thus reduce the sales cycle of prospects.

They also save salespeople time by sending them qualified leads. The tool also allows you to follow the different marketing indicators to adapt your actions and increase their efficiency.

A successful solution will also save time for the person who manages marketing alone or for more sized marketing teams. By automating some of the tasks (sending emails, marketing relaunches, reporting, etc.) and avoiding tedious tasks, teams bring more value by focusing on strategic missions and can thus implement more actions.

We find that, on average, our customers generate 70% more traffic on their website in 1 year and 3 times more leads after deploying an inbound and automation strategy.

The Human Touch: The Key To Stand Out From Your Competitors And Build A Good Strategy

This year again, many companies will launch or accelerate in digital, create content, send thousands of newsletters, deploy advertising content… The desire to communicate and send business messages to its customers and prospects is recurrent. In a B2B environment already saturated with messages not always qualitative, the challenge will be to stand out to succeed and get results.

We believe that to stand out from our competitors, we need to put people in automation. This starts with a good segmentation of its targets, and their maturity. You have to be able to send the right messages to the right prospects at the right time in the sales cycle. Sending emails en masse, or the same content to all its prospects, will be increasingly counterproductive. It will be necessary to contact his contacts according to their profile but also their interests.

Automation has long had bad press because of the intrusive and repetitive nature of sending email footage.

But technology does not do everything, it also goes for example by the tone used in the emails and on the website. Even in B2B, it’s important to stay human and connect with your prospects. Today, customers don’t just buy a product or service, they’re also attached to the company’s “DNA” and the value of its message.

This is a fundamental trend that must be given priority for B2B actions. You have to be able to create the right messages, but above all you have to get them to the right people at the right time.

Digital Trends In 2021: Marketing, SEO, SEA, Content, E-commerce, Social Media

Each year is an opportunity to take a look at best practices and trends for the coming year. Full summary of the trends identified for 2021.

Brand Reputation Trends In 2021

By 2021, brands must integrate e-reputation as a key factor for success. To do this, it will be necessary to link the company’s communication to the social issues that punctuate the daily life of their audience, while taking into account the digital channels that weigh more: media, social networks and influencers. Build your online reputation with fast and efficient formats such as short video. Finally, don’t minimize the impact of Fake News that revolves around your brand, they will always have the coast in 2021.

SEO Trends In 2021

By 2021, it has never been more important to be visible on the internet. To improve a brand’s performance, you’ll need to build on the user experience. Whether on desktop or mobile, the UX will be a key factor for your visibility. Focus on quality content with structured data, along with a solid internal mesh. Businesses will also need to look at local referencing in order to retain customers who are ready to support local businesses.

SEA Trends In 2021

Whether you internalise or outsource the management of Google Ads, you’ll need to think about optimizing your budget, maximizing revenue on high-potential campaigns and targeting audiences with the greatest added value. In terms of targeting, the trend will be to automate. In 2021, there will also be several types of formats to choose from for your SEA, with creative visuals that dress up all points of contact: Gallery Ads, Showcase Shopping Ads, YouTube, Google Display, Gmail… New KPIs to follow, such as lost print rates or Quality Score, are also on the agenda for the new year.

Marketing Automation And Inbound Trends

In 2021, inbound marketing and automation will be within the reach of every company! Stand out by putting people at the heart of your automation actions. This will require an excellent knowledge of your target and a personalized message based on your interests. A key word to remember: personalization, and the end of massive mailings of untargeted and irrelevant email campaigns.

The Content Marketing Trends Of 2021

Next year, companies will focus on the quality of spontaneous content rather than quantity. And it also involves the appropriation of new channels and tools: TikTok, YouTube, live events, newsjacking, streaming, podcast format or the seeding of content. Also prefer quality written content and learn how to stir the emotions of your audience. Using your employees’ audience should also be on the agenda of your content strategy in 2021.

Future Technology Trends

Technology development should follow three main themes: the people-centric approach, the independence of localization and the resilience of companies. Specifically, you should see the development of the Internet of Behaviors to collect and analyze behavioral data, total experience to improve the experience of each stakeholder, computer privacy for data sharing without sacrificing confidentiality or AI engineering to solve maintenance, evolution and governance issues. You will also discover the development of hyperautomation, to keep pace in the face of the acceleration of digital.

2021 In Colour, The Main Trends

This year, the trend will be soft colours representing nature, as a need to reconnect after a rather hectic year! 

Remember these three colours:

1. Champagne grand-voile, with colour code: #FAEBD7
2. Gold fortune, with colour code: #DAA520
3. Tide green, with colour code: #2F4F4F

These are all the keys to getting 2021 off to a good start and having some ideas for strategies to put in place.

Content Marketing: 8 Trends For 2021

Want to create a content strategy that stands out? A round-up of the main trends for 2021.

Less is More

2020 has been a year for creating online content, both to entertain a confined audience and to enhance its brand image. In 2021, the focus will be on the quality of shared content rather than quantity.

Exit sharing for sharing, you will have to seek to add value to your target and prefer to spend time on defining your content strategy rather than on executing it.  And it’s good, the trend will be clean design!

The video format will also remain highly appreciated by targets, especially if it respects the notion of less is more: spontaneous and imperfect videos, but which bring the viewer closer to the brand thanks to their authenticity.

Fear Of Missing Out, Or The Fear Of Missing Out On Important Content

With the ability to consume content at any time, the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is never far away and increases audience loyalty. And 2021 may well confirm this trend. Among the major tools of this loyalty:

• TikTok, with more than 90% of its users opening the app at least once a day. A social network that lets creativity speak for itself and whose full potential has not yet been exploited by brands.
• Live, a trend that exploded during the confinements. To surf the FOMO in 2021, you will have to offer spontaneous live events, without rebroadcasting.
• Newsjacking, which allows you to bounce back on the news with a touch of creativity.
• Streaming, to meet your community on Twitch for example.
• The serification of content, by organizing your content in web series to accentuate the FOMO effect, like the TV series that broadcast one episode per week.

The Great Return Of The Written Word

In 2021, efforts on the production of visually-eyed and flashy content will have to be scaled back to enhance the quality of the written word and produce engaging texts. Thus, it will be important to focus its content marketing strategy on different formats, such as the newsletter, which reserves a special moment each morning for its readers and which allows to support a storytelling specific to the brand.

Also engage your audience on LinkedIn with debate-inducing texts rather than images of dolphins. Finally, your website’s web design should also look at textual elements rather than visuals that are considered more aggressive.

Personal Branding

Because it’s easier to attach to a person than to a virtual entity, bet on personal branding for your content in 2021. People who are part of the company will be able to represent the brand by taking a stand on social networks through their personal profile and by speaking out to convey brand values through their personality. You can also bet on conversational content, through contributory interviews, customer interviews or high value-added podcasts.

More Spontaneous Content

Create an authentic and attractive image for your brand through a less commercial brand content. As a brand, dare to take a stand on social issues and affirm your values and vision. Beware, this is not a simple statement to restore his image, but a real commitment to his community, at the risk of not pleasing everyone. In addition, you’ll need to base your content on your target’s expectations by constantly monitoring to find out what will make sense. The strongest brands today are those that demonstrate transparency, via hard-hitting Insider content.

Also focus on nano-influencers that have less than 5000 subscribers and can become true ambassadors for your brand, especially via YouTube and Instagram. You also benefit from influencers within your company: employees. They will be able to share content related to the company’s actions and thus promote your internal brand image.

Also think about your customers, true broadcasters of your brand-related content through reviews and social media posts. Make them want to share content, which can then be broadcast on your own networks.

New Spaces For Expression

In 2021, it will be important to take ownership of the popular broadcast channels:

• YouTube, which has become a real search engine where it will be interesting to invest in advertising videos in innovative format but also to collaborate with youtubers.
• The audio channel, represented by the Podcast format that exploded in 2020 thanks to its ease of access and consumption. For brands, creating a corporate podcast would be a real plus.

Increasingly Accurate Targeting

Today, with excessive consumer attention, successful content is content that truly engages its audience. In 2021, consider relying on your customers’ data to deliver personalized content, without making the practice abusive. Indeed, the various scandals over algorithms have made consumers suspicious of the use of their personal data. You’d also prefer to combine marketing automation and one-to-one marketing by offering personal exchanges.

Emotions On The Front Line

In 2021, it will be essential to convey emotion to your audience. To do this, use storytelling every time you create content.